149 Cuba Street (WCC, November 2011)

Transcription

1 Shop and dwelling 149 Cuba Street 149 Cuba Street (WCC, November 2011) Summary of heritage significance This elegant building has high aesthetic value for its carefully executed neo- Classical composition and detail. The building has historic value for its association with the well-known brewer and entrepreneur Thomas George Macarthy, for whom it was constructed in The exterior of the building is largely authentic, despite a cumbersome recent addition and is of technical value as buildings of this era become increasingly rare. This building has townscape value for its distinctive form and scale in its location, and has group value within the Cuba Street Heritage Area. 1

2 District Plan: Map 12,16, Symbol 429 [Plan Change 53] Building and remnant party wall on south side Legal Description: Lot 1 DP Heritage Area: Cuba Street Heritage Area HPT Listed: Cuba Street Historic Area Archaeological Site: Other Names: Lazule, The Hemp Shop, Luckies, 151 Cuba St Key physical dates: Built: Architect / Builder: Architect: Guido G Schwartz / Builder: J and A Wilson Former uses: Commercial Current uses: Commercial Earthquake Prone Status: Posted (SR ) Extent: Cityview GIS

3 1.0 Outline History 1.1 History This building was designed by architect GG Schwartz as a shop and dwelling for brewer TG Macarthy in December , and probably constructed soon after. 2 The plans show a shop on the ground floor, with a sitting room and scullery behind. The first floor had three bedrooms and a bathroom. The shed visible at the back was probably constructed in The building has housed a variety of retailers since its construction. Early tenants include a boot mart, a hatter, and a watchmaker. 4 Printer and stationer Frederick Vaughan occupied the building from 1910 until In 1924 the Pippos Brothers ushered in a long period of occupancy by various fishmongers. 6 After 1945 the building was used for a range of purposes, including a beauty salon, clothing retailers, and cafes. 7 The property remained in the hands of the Public Trustee, as executor of Macarthy s will, until 1995 when it was sold to well-known local café owners Tim Rose and Geoffrey Marsland. 8 They opened a café in the building for a brief period while other premises of theirs were earthquake strengthened. The present owners, Ian and Bertha Utting, acquired the property in 1999 and it presently (2012) houses a jewellery shop on the ground floor and offices above. No recent permits have been located which detail alterations. However, visual evidence shows the shop space has altered, probably a number of times to reflect changing usage. The first floor was not inspected. The exterior is largely authentic, although the front verandah present on the 1896 plan has been replaced at an unknown time Cuba Street, shop and dwelling, December 3, 1896, Building Permit 00053:32:1936, Wellington City Archives. 2 This report is adapted from the following document: Russell Murray and Kerryn Pollock, 151 Cuba Street, VIII. (Wellington City Council: Unpublished report, prepared for Plan Change 53, 2005). 3 Building Permit 00053:179:9868, Wellington City Archives. 4 Stones Wellington, Hawkes Bay and Taranaki Directory, Ibid, Ibid, Wises Post Office Directory, CT WN46A/255. 3

4 Thomas George Macarthy (c1833/4-1912) Thomas George Macarthy was born in London in 1833 or In the 1850s he went to the goldfields in Victoria, Australia. In the 1860s he arrived in Dunedin and then went onto Charleston on the West Coast where he established a brewery and invested money in the Reefton mines. 9 He was listed as a director of two mining companies: the Golden Bar Gold Mining Company in 1882, 10 and the Koranui Coal Mining Co in In 1877 Macarthy moved to Wellington where he purchased the Mace and Arkell brewery in the Old Custom House Street (Bond Street) along with the interest in a group of public houses belonging to the brewery 12 for the sum of 20, He also acquired hotels which were closely linked to his principal business, and other urban property. 14 In 1883 he purchased a brewery in Tory Street, and this appears to have been renamed Macarthy s City and Pheonix Brewery. TG Macarthy (Alexander Turnbull Library, Reference: PAColl ) Macarthy became a respected member of the business community. He was elected to the board of directors of the Bank of New Zealand in 1894 when the location of its head office was shifted from London to Wellington, and served until He was prominent in the Wellington Building and Investment Company Limited, 16 the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company, the Wellington industrial exhibition of 1896 to He was also involved in the company formed in the 1890s to build a new opera house to replace the one that was destroyed in the 1879 Opera House fire which also destroyed four hectares of property in and around Manners, Cuba and Dixon Streets in Wellington. 18 In 1897, at age 63, Macarthy married 23-year-old Mary Ellen Fitzsimons. There were no children of the marriage. When Macarthy died in 1912 he left half his large estate to his wife, and half for the purpose of establishing a trust for 'charitable and educational purposes or institutions in the Provincial District of Wellington'. 19 The Trust continues to operate, and even owns some of the original buildings. At 2012, the total income distributed since inception of the Trust is over $58.61 million Cyclopedia Co. Ltd, Mr. Thomas George Macarthy, in The Cyclopedia of New Zealand: Wellington Provincial District (Wellington: The Cyclopedia Company Limited, 1897), accessed September 5, 2012, 10 Concert, Colonist, Volume XXVI, Issue 3529, 2 August 1882, Page 3 11 West Coast Times, Issue 2492, 26 March 1877, Page 3 12 Grey River Argus, Volume 21, Issue 3079, 28 June 1878, Page 2 13 Colonist, Volume XX, Issue 2417, 11 July 1878, Page 3 14 G.R. Hawke, Macarthy, Thomas George Biography, in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated September 1, 2010, 15 Ibid. 16 Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 28, 19 June 1886, Page 2 17 Wellington Industrial Exhibition, Evening Post, Volume LI, Issue 109, 8 May 1896, Page 2 18 William Main, Wellington Through a Victorian Lens (Wellington: Millwood Press, 1972) 19 Hawke, Macarthy, Thomas George Biography. 20 History of the Thomas George Macarthy Trust, Public Trust website, accessed September 22, 2012, 4

5 1.2 Timeline of modifications 1896 Building constructed (00053:32:1936) 1925 Alterations - window alterations and removal of partitions to ground floor shop (00055:50:A4693) 1940 Shop alterations new partitions in the shop on the left and a new entry door to the shop on right (00056:255:B21023) 1950 Verandah (00056:389:B29959) 1960 Shop alterations - remove a partition at the rear of the shop in the kitchen area (00058:163:C7608) 1966 Building alterations - shop front entrance (00058:460:C19766) 2000 Building strengthened (SR 66529) 2001? WCC grant for: Earthquake strengthening, replacing window joinery with hardwood jarra to be in keeping with the character of the building, repair of the existing stair-case and repair to the exterior front elevation Workshop extension (00078:1229:95986) 2004 Extension of office above existing portal frame retail space. Original single storey brick lean-to replaced, re-strengthening and first floor extension to existing building. (00078:1619:118498) 1.3 Ownership history 1884 Mary London, Widow (inherited land?) (CT 36/191) 1896 Frederick Simmonds, Corp of Wellington Clerk (?) (17/8/1896) (CT 36/191) 1896 Thomas George Macarthy, Brewer (17/8/1896) (CT 36/191) 1900 Thomas George Macarthy, "seised of an estate" (CT 110/7) 1912 Tranfered to Public Trustee (CT 110/7) 1995 Tim Rose and Geoffrey Marsland (CT WN46A/255) 1999 Ian Walter Utting and Joan Bertha Utting (CT WN46A/255) 2004 Ian Walter Utting, Joan Bertha Utting, Diane Leonie Miller and Mark Chiu 2010 Ian Walter Utting and Joan Bertha Utting 2011 Ian Walter Utting, Joan Bertha Utting, Hanna Joan Randall and Renee De Thiery Patel Randall 1.4 Occupation history The building has housed a variety of retailers since its construction. Early tenants include a boot mart, a hatter, and a watchmaker Printer and stationer Frederick Vaughan occupied the building from 1910 until In 1924 the Pippos Brothers (Greek Cypriots) were the first of a series of fishmongers After 1945 the building was used for a range of purposes, including a beauty salon, clothing retailers, and cafes Café (Tim Rose and Geoffrey Marsland opened a café in the building for a brief period while other premises of theirs were earthquake strengthened) First floor - design firm office 21 Heritage building Cuba Street, CUB149, Wellington City Council Records. 22 Stones Wellington, Hawkes Bay and Taranaki Directory, Ibid, Ibid, Wises Post Office Directory,

6 2005 Lazule a jewellery shop on the ground floor (may be earlier than 2005, still there in 2012) Detail from the original plans (Building Permit, 00053:32:1936, Wellington City Archives) 6

7 Detail from the original plans (Building Permit, 00053:32:1936, Wellington City Archives) 7

8 1.5 Architect Guido Schwartz was articled to Theo Necker of Hamburg, Germany in 1871, attended the Hamburg and Stuttgart Technical Schools, and went on to work as an assistant in offices in Hamburg, Wiesbaden, Frankfurt, Saarbrucken, and Stuttgart in Germany. He moved to New Zealand in to join his brother J.H. Otto Schwartz who was employed as an actuary for the Government Life Insurance Department, Otto later became the company secretary for Equitable Building Society. Both Otto and Guido were keen musicians who both later helped found the Wellington Orchestral Society. 27 Guido Schwartz worked in offices in Timaru and Christchurch, 28 until he moved to Wellington about In 1897 Schwartz had premises in Lambton Quay with a private address of Hawker Street. 30 He later moved to Lower Hutt, but kept his business premises in Lambton Quay. 31 Schwartz was proposed for membership of the RIBA in 1912 by fellow architects Alfred Atkins, Roger Bacon and Frederick de Jersey Clere. 32 Other buildings by Schwartz on the WCC Heritage Inventory include 360 Lambton Quay, 104 Cuba Street, and a row of cottages at 2-8 Footscray Street, and a fine house at 23 Pat Lawlor Close and several Wellington hotels Physical description 2.1 Architecture The building is a modestly scaled two-storey brick construction housing a shop at the ground floor and a small flat/office at the first floor (need to confirm current use), with a complex of outbuildings at the rear of the property. The street façade and parapet is decorated with fairly elaborate plaster-work mouldings and elegant timber exterior joinery and is painted in a distinctive pale lapis-lazuli colour. The original bull-nose verandah and cast-iron posts are long lost, replaced with a modern flat stayed canopy, as is the original shop-front and street entrance, but the building retains its original design function (mixed residential and commercial use) and has continued in that use since it was built. Below the verandah the shop-front is modern, and although carefully done in (clearfinished) timber, bears no particular relation to that shown on the original drawings (which followed a line neatly inclined from the pavement to the door) beyond the location of doors and windows. Above the verandah, the carefully proportioned neoclassical façade appears entirely original. 26 Personal Matters, Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 123, 25 May 1926, Page 9 27 Obituary, Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 108, 9 May 1932, Page 9 28 Antonia Brodie (ed), Schwartz, George Guido, b. 1853, Directory of British Architects, : Vol. 2 (L-Z), (British Architectural Library: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2001) 29 The Equitable Building Society's Permanent Offices, Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 192, 31 December 1886, Page 3 30 Cyclopedia Co. Ltd, Other Architects, Civil Engineers, Etc. in The Cyclopedia of New Zealand: Wellington Provincial District (Wellington: The Cyclopedia Company Limited, 1897), accessed September 26, 2012, 31 Brodie, Schwartz, George Guido, b Ibid. 33 Michael Kelly and Russell Murray, 2 Footscray Ave (unpublished report for Wellington City Council, April 17, 2007). 8

9 The upper facade is divided into three bays by two pairs of square Doric pilasters. The central bay contains a pair of round-headed double-hung windows in a panelled surround. The pilasters support a blind triangular Doric pediment above the windows, the soffit of which extends horizontally to either side of the façade to produce a cornice line. The pediment and cornice are embellished with dentil mouldings; elaborate Corinthian keystones cum console brackets join to the cornice above the windows. Above the pediment, the pilasters extend to a plain horizontal parapet line that is surmounted by a narrow upper pediment with a curved cap that conceals the apex of the gable end of the roof beyond. The brickwork is generally visible on the façade, save for the moulded details of the pediment and the panelling around the windows. The original plaster and brick is likely to have been unpainted, or possibly, lime-washed. There is an interesting visible story of changes to the site told in the detail of the party wall and the variety of outbuildings and brickwork walls at the back of the site, now partly lost with the recent (2006) construction of an addition to the back of the building. The party wall retains traces of the building that preceded the adjoining carpark, with a small amount of plaster moulding remaining on the street end of the wall, traces of the framing and floor lines of the adjoining building and evidence of a lean-to shown with a neatly plastered low parapet line. The back face of the main building is now disfigured with an unfortunate recent addition in the form of a shallow-pitched lean-to to the main roof with the consequential loss of much of the original back elevation. The original elevation, which was visible until early 2006, was in carefully-worked brick and featured two pairs of double-hung windows with softly rounded arched heads and the original lean-to, a single storey brick addition to the main bulk of the building covered with a corrugated iron hipped roof and trimmed with double-hung timber windows set in arched brick openings matching the main building. This was an extremely rare form of lean-to in Wellington and is now lost. Spaced away from the lean-to and running along the back boundary of the site there is a modern outbuilding, mainly clad in corrugated steel and with a mono-slope roof. The boundary wall of this building is substantially built incorporating the remains of an old brick wall and chimney (which may be a remnant of a small outbuilding, such as a laundry, privy or a stable). There is little remaining original fabric within the ground floor of the building. The flat has been provided with separate access from the street (it was originally accessed from within the shop), perhaps in the 1920s in association with alterations to the shop-front. The interior of the first floor was not inspected, and although it appears from an exterior viewing that much of the joinery and trims survives, the modern position of the staircase and the recent addition at the rear of the building has almost certainly resulted in significant internal alterations and loss of heritage fabric. 2.2 Materials Brick, timber secondary structure, corrugated iron roof. 2.3 Setting This Victorian shop/house was one of many in Cuba Street. Over the years, this part of the street has gradually accrued larger commercial buildings, and there are now relatively few of this type left. 9

10 It is sited close to the Vivian Street corner next to the later and taller Berry s building on the left side, and flanked by a car-park, once a large two-storied pub the former White Swan Hotel, on the right. The car-park permits views of the side and rear of the building, including the various outbuildings, and allows views through to the rear of Toomath s building on Ghuznee Street, a rare and interesting streetscape that complements this building. The south side of the building is currently used for a very large billboard, which draws attention to the building and gives it a prominence it might not otherwise have. The nearby setting includes an extensive collection of older buildings in Cuba Street, Ghuznee Street, Swan Lane and Garrett Street, many of which are included in the Cuba Street Heritage Area. This building makes an important contribution to both its immediate and wider settings and its value is enhanced by those settings. Looking north along Cuba Street, with a view of the modern additions to the rear of the building. (Image taken November Copyright: Google Maps 2012) 10

11 3.0 Sources Brodie, Antonia (ed). Schwartz, George Guido, b Directory of British Architects, : Vol. 2 (L-Z). British Architectural Library: Continuum International Publishing Group, Cyclopedia Co. Ltd, Mr. Thomas George Macarthy, in The Cyclopedia of New Zealand: Wellington Provincial District (Wellington: The Cyclopedia Company Limited, 1897), accessed September 5, 2012, Cyclopedia Co. Ltd, Other Architects, Civil Engineers, Etc. in The Cyclopedia of New Zealand: Wellington Provincial District (Wellington: The Cyclopedia Company Limited, 1897), accessed September 26, 2012, Hawke, GR. Macarthy, Thomas George Biography, in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated September 1, 2010, History of the Thomas George Macarthy Trust Public Trust website, accessed September 22, 2012, Kelly, Michael, and Russell Murray. 2 Footscray Ave. Unpublished report for Wellington City Council, April 17, 2007 Main, William. Wellington Through a Victorian Lens (Wellington: Millwood Press, 1972) Murray, Russell, and Kerryn Pollock, 151 Cuba Street, VIII. Wellington City Council: Unpublished report, prepared for Plan Change 53, Wellington City Archives 149 Cuba Street, shop and dwelling, December 3, 1896, Building Permit 00053:32:1936, Wellington City Archives. Stones Wellington, Hawkes Bay and Taranaki Directory, , , Wises Post Office Directory, Wellington City Council Records Heritage building Cuba Street, CUB149, Wellington City Council Records. Newspapers West Coast Times, Issue 2492, 26 March 1877, Page 3 Grey River Argus, Volume 21, Issue 3079, 28 June 1878, Page 2 11

12 Colonist, Volume XX, Issue 2417, 11 July 1878, Page 3 Concert, Colonist, Volume XXVI, Issue 3529, 2 August 1882, Page 3 Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 28, 19 June 1886, Page 2 The Equitable Building Society's Permanent Offices. Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 192, 31 December 1886, Page 3 Wellington Industrial Exhibition, Evening Post, Volume LI, Issue 109, 8 May 1896, Page 2 Personal Matters, Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 123, 25 May 1926, Page 9 Obituary, Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 108, 9 May 1932, Page 9 12

13 4.0 Criteria for assessing cultural heritage significance Cultural heritage values Aesthetic Value: Architectural: Does the item have architectural or artistic value for characteristics that may include its design, style, era, form, scale, materials, colour, texture, patina of age, quality of space, craftsmanship, smells, and sounds? The building has high aesthetic value for its carefully executed neo-classical composition and detail. Townscape: Does the item have townscape value for the part it plays in defining a space or street; providing visual interest; its role as a landmark; or the contribution it makes to the character and sense of place of Wellington? It has high townscape value for its distinctive form and scale in its location. The immediate setting, including Berry s Building, is enhanced by and makes a strong contribution to the heritage values of this building. Group: Is the item part of a group of buildings, structures, or sites that taken together have coherence because of their age, history, style, scale, materials, or use? This building has very high group value within the Cuba Street precinct, particularly as one of the few remaining original buildings on its original site on the upper part of the street. Historic Value: Association: Is the item associated with an important person, group, or organisation? This elegant little building has historic value for its association with the well-known brewer and entrepreneur TG Macarthy. Association: Is the item associated with an important historic event, theme, pattern, phase, or activity? This building is associated with the development of Cuba Street and the commercialisation of Te Aro during the Victorian period. Scientific Value: Archaeological: Does the item have archaeological value for its ability to provide scientific information about past human activity? The building was constructed before 1900; hence this site has potential archaeological value. Educational: Does the item have educational value for what it can demonstrate about aspects of the past? Technological: Does the item have technological value for its innovative or important construction methods or use of materials? 13

14 While the building is built with well-known materials and techniques for the time, it is of technical value as buildings of this era are becoming increasingly rare. Social Value: Public esteem: Is the item held in high public esteem? Symbolic, commemorative, traditional, spiritual: Does the item have symbolic, commemorative, traditional, spiritual or other cultural value for the community who has used and continues to use it? Identity/Sense of place/continuity: Is the item a focus of community, regional, or national identity? Does the item contribute to sense of place or continuity? This building is one of several Victorian commercial buildings on Cuba Street which contribute to the sense of place and continuity of the Cuba Street Heritage Area. Sentiment/Connection: Is the item a focus of community sentiment and connection? Level of cultural heritage significance Rare: Is the item rare, unique, unusual, seminal, influential, or outstanding? This is one of the few small pre-1900 brick and masonry Victorian shophouses in this part of Cuba Street to survive on its original site. Representative: Is the item a good example of the class it represents? As a small building in continuous commercial use it is a good representative example of the early commercialisation of Te Aro. Authentic: Does the item have authenticity or integrity because it retains significant fabric from the time of its construction or from later periods when important additions or modifications were carried out? The exterior of the building is largely authentic, despite a cumbersome recent addition. Local/Regional/National/International Is the item important for any of the above characteristics at a local, regional, national, or international level? This building is of local importance, as it contributes to the Cuba Street Heritage Area. 14

15 5.0 Appendix Research checklist (desktop) Source Y/N Comments 1995 Heritage Inventory N Not included 2001 Non-Residential heritage Inventory N Not included WCC Records building file Y CUB149 WCC Records grant files (earthquake strengthening, enhancement of heritage values) Research notes from 2001 Non-Residential heritage N Not included Inventory Plan change? 53 Russell Murray Report Heritage Area Report Heritage Area Spreadsheet Y Little info - refers to Pollock and Murray 2005 Heritage items folder (electronic) Y HPT website HPT files Conservation Plan Searched Heritage Library (CAB 2) Background research Insert any relevant background information into this section. This may include: Additional plans, such as those for alterations Chunks of text from other sources such as Cyclopedia of NZ, Papers Past Additional images 15